25 Feb
Music That Keeps Me Moving
When I initially started hitting the streets to train for my very first TC 10k I went out and bought an armband for my iPhone, and proceeded to put together a playlist of songs I figured would get me pumped.
I sifted through all 3900 songs in my iTunes collection and managed to muster up 30 tracks of what I surmised to be my definitive running soundtrack.
Since I am not the world’s largest fan of hip-hop, rap or dance, I opted to leave such genres out. Plus, they really only make up around 8% of my iTunes ensemble. Instead I piled on my favourites- Propagandhi, Metallica, NOFX and Pennywise, to name a few.
My first attempt at a run was short, and as I quickly discovered so was my level of tolerance for that crappy, demotivating playlist of punk and metal.
What I discovered was horrifying…
I am motivated to run by rap music.
I never thought I would admit that. But I scrapped everything except the 1 song that got me running faster, harder, and for a far greater distance than I expected: Jay-Z’s “Empire State of Mind” Sure I kept a large amount of other genres, but otherwise I did a complete overhaul to accommodate my previously unknown proclivity to hear bass pumping through my earphones.
My new playlist has grown on me. I am now 8 runs into my training, and with yesterday’s haul of just under 5 km I am working my way slowly up to 10k without the help of any guitar solos.
Here are the songs that- though some tough to digest at first- keep me pushing toward my goal of completing the TC 10k:
- Saul Williams (cover of U2’s) “Sunday Bloody Sunday”
- Jay-Z “Run This Town”
- Beastie Boys “Sabotage”
- Queens of the Stone Age “No One Knows”
- Iron Maiden “the Trooper”
- Eminem “White America”
- Kanye West “Stronger”
- Lamb of God “Again We Rise”
- Incubus “Vitamin”
- Westside Connection “Bow Down”
- Rise Against “Behind Close Doors”
- Children of Bodom “Needled 24/7″
- Daft Punk “Da Funk”
- Ol’ Dirty Bastard “Shimmy Shimmy Ya”
And the 3 that never fail to make me literally go that extra mile:
- Green Day “Jesus of Suburbia”
- the Offspring “All I Want”
- Eminem “Till I Collapse”
Those are what do it for me, as much as I previously denied it.
It all boils down to matching a song’s rhythm to your pace, and hearing the right song at the right point of your run.
A few times this week I have been about ready to quite and give my legs a half minute of walking- until one of my key 3 songs came on and I couldn’t help but push on. What songs, bands, or specific genres keep you motivated and moving?



On my first full day in the city came the Wedding Shower, and the day following included an impressive west-coast inspired dinner at 

From Wednesday to Friday evening myself, mom, the aunts and various other helpers of either side of the families scurried about the property grounds like worker ants about a colony. I managed to walk away with variable wedding war-wounds while assisting with the garden and food preparations. 
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